


Runaway

by semperama



Series: Tumblr Ficlets - Pinto [29]
Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dogs, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-12-05 07:52:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11573670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/semperama/pseuds/semperama
Summary: Zach and Chris meet at the dog park.





	Runaway

It takes a full half hour for Chris to relax. This is a first for both of them, him and Wednesday, and he’s expecting the worst. Another dog attacking her. Her attacking another dog. Her attacking another dog’s owner. She has been nothing but meek and friendly so far, but animals are unpredictable, right? Especially animals that so far have spent more time around humans than other animals.

Chris watches as she dashes around and around the park. She only pauses long enough to sniff and bark a hello in the face of each dog she meets before running off again at top speed. You’d think she’d never been outside before, never had room to run before, even though Chris’s yard provides more than enough space for her to tire herself out in. By lap three, her tongue is lolling out of her mouth, and after lap five, she plops herself down in the dirt, panting, and lets the other dogs come up and sniff her for a while. The canine grin never leaves her face.

Finally Chris feels safe to look down at the book open in his hand and read for a while. It’s a beautiful day, sunny and cloudless and not too hot, and he plans to enjoy it as much as Wednesday is.

And he does enjoy it, right up until he glances up and realizes that he doesn’t see her anymore.

He’s on his feet right away, the book falling to the bench as he raises a hand to his eyes to shade them from the sun. There are half a dozen black dogs in the park, but none of them are her. He barely has enough breath in his lungs to whistle, and when he finally manages it, many of the dogs look his way, but none of them come running.

“Wednesday?” he calls. Nothing. “Wednesday!” he says again. Now people are looking at him too, various shades of concern on their faces, but he barely notices. Unless they’re going to jump up to help him, he doesn’t care, and of course none of them are doing any such thing.

His feet carry him toward the gate on autopilot. He’ll wade into that fray and inspect every damn dog, even though he can clearly see that none of them are her. He’ll inspect every inch of fence too, and if he finds even the smallest gap, he’ll sue the city. He’ll get every goddamn useless politician out here to help him search, and when he finds her—when he finds her—he’ll—

His shaking fingers are fumbling at the gate latch when there’s a tap at his shoulder.

“Sorry, umm. Is this girl yours?”

Chris whirls around so fast he nearly stumbles over the man in front of him, who is bent in half with his fingers hooked into Wednesday’s bright pink collar.

“Jesus,” Chris breathes, clutching his own chest like some parody of a relieved father. “Wednesday, what—”

“I went in to get my dogs, and this slippery little one got out,” the man says. He lets go of Wednesday’s collar, and she immediately goes to Chris and jumps up on his thigh, demanding love. “Luckily she was too interested in saying hello to Noah and Skunk here to run off before I could grab her.”

Chris scratches Wednesday’s ears and bends over to kiss her nose and accept licks on his chin. His heart is pounding and he has a humiliating urge to burst into tears or yell at her or both, but all he can do is keep petting her and hug her tiny neck and murmur a light scolding that will sound more like praise to her. God, that was so close. He was so close to losing her. She’s all he has right now, and maybe that’s pathetic, but he loves her, and he almost lost her.

“Anyway, uh,” the man stammers, “glad you two are reunited. I’ll just—”

Without thinking, Chris pushes Wednesday off of him and takes a step forward to throw his arms around the stranger’s neck. “Thank you,” he says fervently. “Thank you so much.”

“Oh. Umm.” The man pats Chris’s back awkwardly, then lets his hand rest softly there, like he’s afraid he’s not actually allowed to touch him. “Don’t mention it. We dog dads gotta stick together, you know?”

Chris is blushing when he finally lets go. He glances down to see that Wednesday has sat herself next to the man’s two wiry terriers like nothing happened. The little shit. He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck, looking up again and actually noticing the man who saved her for the first time. Of course he would have to be handsome. Dark hair, eyes like warm chocolate, a dusting of stubble across his jaw that Chris could feel catching on the skin of his neck a moment ago. Chris blushes even harder.

“I’m Zach,” the man says, his mouth quirked knowingly. He sticks out his hand, as if they need a handshake to go with that humiliating hug a moment ago.

“Chris,” Chris says, and slides his palm alongside Zach’s. Then he clears his throat, forces a smile, and adds, “So, do you come here often?”


End file.
